
Member Reviews

This was a cute book in an alt-historical setting. I wish that the setting and characters had been developed more, and the language was a bit lacking, but overall it was a fun read.

This was a difficult read for me. There was too much detail given at the beginning of the book. For the first 15-20 percent, the story did not really get a proper start. It was frankly boring and made the book hard for me to want to finish. I did not particularly hate or enjoy this book.
However, I loved the world Hayley set up in her retelling. I loved how women loving women (and men loving men) was more common in society, yet it did not come without its own societal issues. This small piece of background helped carry the plot between our two love interests. I did have moments where I felt happy with the romance, the love expressed, and how it was shown. This is important in LGBT+ books.
However, I think it is a book I would suggest to a certain type of reader, but I would not recommend it to most readers. I will give it 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars.

3.5 stars rounded up.
I wasn’t really a fan of Hayley Kiyoko’s debut book, so I’m pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this one. My biggest qualm was that the dialogue felt jilted and unnatural much of the time. There were several points at which I was thinking the book just needed another once-over for checking phrasing and sentence structure. But overall this was enjoyable! Ivy and Freya were adorable, but Dani definitely stole the show for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an eARC in return for an honest review.
I didn't love this as much as Hayley's other book. This is a cute story perfect for younger LGBT readers. But it wasn't my cup of tea as much as I hoped it would be.

Freya and Ivy are such delightful characters; especially Freya, because there is so much depth to her that one would not expect given her behavior in public and her reputation as the dutiful daughter. Her mischievousness is quite enjoyable. I liked that Freya understood Ivy and her poetry in a way that others did not, and that Ivy's presence, beliefs, and the way she lived her life helped Freya think about her own life and what she wanted out of life.
The author’s decision to have a society where gay/lesbian relationships are accepted, including among the upper classes, but yet women are still treated as second class— cannot vote, cannot inherit noble titles, etc. — is an interesting one, as late 19th century England and America still harbored both prejudices. But yet, among the upper class, the societal pressure to have a male heir to keep the noble line going can thwart a love match where the young woman is the only child and therefore is expected to marry a man so that a male heir can hopefully be produced to keep the noble lineage alive. Or, in the case of Freya, where there are multiple sisters, but some are of the sapphic persuasion (Marigold and Dani) and the one sister who is married to a man (Angelica) has so far only had daughters, not giving their father the male heir for whom he longs, so the family hopes for a male heir rest with Freya.
I must admit I was disappointed by the final chapters. I was certainly pleased that Freya and Ivy ended up together. However, after all the things that tore them apart and temporarily kept them apart, the resumption of their relationship happened too quickly. It feels like a big part of the story has just been skipped over, and a lot of issues left unresolved.

Oh, Hailey! I wanted to love this so much as a long time Hailey Kiyoko fan, but it just didn’t do it for me. Her writing style is very juvenile and the suspension of disbelief for this one in terms of the society’s rules was a little too much. Unfortunately, I think I’ll just be sticking to her music in the future.

** spoiler alert **
This was not only a satisfying read but one that left me wanting more. I wish the ending was fleshed out a bit more, as it felt like Ivy and Freya reconciled without hashing out their problems. Obviously, the timestamps indicated that months and then one year passed between the falling actions and the end of the book, but it all felt quick. I was hoping to get a bit more of a resolution with Lord Tallon’s views towards Angelica being responsible for carrying on his family line.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and think a lot of young queer people would love reading it. It was refreshing to see a period piece written from this perspective, especially one focusing on sapphic romance. I love what Hayley Kiyoko is doing as an author and can’t wait to see her do more!

thank you to the publisher and net galley for this arc copy. I had such high hopes for this book. I loved Kiyokos last novel but this was hard to me to get into and I kept finding myself distracted.

A sweet sapphic love story set on a backdrop of an AU queer normative regency England, Where There’s Room For Us explores themes of discovering ourselves later in life and balancing authenticity with the want to belong. Where There’s Room For Us had all the hallmarks of the regency romances I love (the balls and teas and lawn games and gowns where all present) and I was excited about the potential of this universe twist. It was also fun to explore this slightly different regency world where sapphic and achellian relationships are normalized (though still marginalized) and women can own business/be professionals (though still face road blocks and prejudices). I loved the idea of the traveling queer community The Bridge and the nonbinary rep its leader provided but wish we could have spent more time there or had it fleshed out more. There was a robust cast of characters, some of whom were more defined than others, but could leave Kiyoko open to turning this into a series of sorts a la Bridgerton.
There was a lot to enjoy in this book but I also found the pacing off. It started off relatively slow and built Freya’s and Ivy’s relationship very solidly. But that strong , slow base left the last 10-20% of the book hurting towards the end and making the resolution feel rushed. It also felt like there were maybe a bit too many plot lines and settings for a book of this length. I found myself unintentionally skimming at various times during my read and that fact alone lead me to conclude that I could not rate my reading experience higher than a 3/5.

4/5 Stars. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!
Bridgerton meets Love, Victor in this tender novel set in Victorian England. The novel follows Freya, a socialite from a well-established family and Ivy, an American poet, known for her scandalous publications. Freya and Ivy form a strong bond but must navigate societal expectations, family dynamics, and Victorian traditions.
The novel is a lovely representation of young, sweet love. It is full of yearning and longing. I think it is a beautiful, age-appropriate (YA) depiction of queer love. Freya and Ivy are different, but both are strong in their own way. The third act break-up was a bit dramatic; however, it set the stage for the personal growth of each character. I especially loved the sisterly dynamics and shenanigans throughout!
Great novel for a younger audience (only one closed-door scene).

3 ⭐️Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I was so excited to receive this Arc because I not only love Hayley Kiyoko and her music, but I love all the work and advocacy she does to increase queer representation, especially among youth. The premise of this book was really fun—a regency-era queer romance, where queer relationships are more commonplace and accepted in society—but sometimes it almost felt hard to imagine, which perhaps was part of the point. I found it overall a bit slow in pacing, which made it hard to pick up. Unfortunately I find that I feel like that often with historical romance; I’m not sure if I have a hard time connecting with the characters, plot, or both, because of the historical distance. Overall so glad to see queer rep in YA historical fiction but not my all-time favorite novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an eARC in return for an honest review.
This is my first book of Kiyoko's that I have read, and really enjoyed it! The description was perfect to me, as I have been loving Bridgerton-esque stories lately. Ivy and Freya's stories and self discoveries were both different, but equally as important. One of my favorite aspects of this book were that of Freya's family, and more specifically her sisters. The Tallon sisters reminded me a lot of the bonds between siblings present in stories like Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. I also appreciated the touches of political intrigue that this novel had, with the women's movement that Ivy gets involved with, to the mentions of political unfairness for wlw couples in the society, to the lack of voting rights back in America at the time. All of this added so much more to this book than I was expecting, when compared to your traditional love story. The addition of the safe space of The Bridge was great. I loved getting to see the supportiveness present in the community in this version of history that Kiyoko built.
All in all, while I tend to read less YA than I used to, I found this to be a heartwarming, fun, and important story. I would recommend it to those looking for a LGBTQ+ story set in this era, and think that young people in the community will find it to be enjoyable and uplifting.

This was such a heartfelt, emotional read with a lot of vulnerability and honesty woven into the story. I really appreciated how the characters were allowed to be messy and imperfect while figuring themselves out. The romance was sweet and awkward in all the right ways, and I loved the themes of self-discovery and finding where you truly belong.
I’m giving it 4 stars because while I connected with a lot of it, there were a few moments where I wanted the pacing to be tighter or certain parts of the story to dig a little deeper. Still, the heart was definitely there, and by the end, I felt really satisfied with the journey.
A beautiful, emotional coming-of-age story with romance, heartache, and hope all mixed together.

I received a temporary digital copy of Where There's Room for Us from NetGalley, Wednesday Books and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
"Freya’s life has always been mapped out for her: marry a wealthy lord, produce heirs, and protect the family’s noble status. But when she unexpectedly takes her sister’s place on a date with Ivy, everything changes. For the first time, she feels the kind of spark she’s always dreamed of."
I was really excited to read Where There's Room for Us; 1880s Victorian England where everyone is free to love whoever they choose?! Count me in. Yet, while reading, there was something lacking. I can't point to exactly what is missing - it just felt extremely forced. The world building was also a bit confusing; same-sex couples were accepted, but female couples and their children can't inherit, while same-sex male couples can? Also, Freya's father fought against the inheritance law, which in turn hurt his daughters' best interests? Odd.

While I wanted to enjoy this book, it was unfortunately not super well written, and as such, I could not finish it. I do not feel that it is fair for me to leave a star rating.

For New York poet and heiress Ivy Yada-Lovell, being thrust unexpectedly into the English gentry when her brother inherits a title is like entering a new world entirely. Berkshire is a place steeped in tradition; although women can marry women and men can marry men, titles can be inherited only by blood-related sons and well-bred women are expected to follow well-bred paths. At first, Ivy thinks her only duties in her new home will be to learn how the upper class works and find her brother a wife, but when she finds herself falling for one of the daughters from the neighboring estate, Ivy will be forced to not only confront her own presuppositions, but to much better understand the society in which she now lives if she has any hope of keeping her new love.
Hayley Kiyoko's new novel "Where There's Room for Us" is set in a reimagined Victorian England where queer marriage is legal, but almost everything else is the same, right down to the paternalism that pervaded much of particularly upper-class society at the time. When I first heard the premise I was honestly a little skeptical; after all, misogyny and homophobia are extremely closely tied together, so I wondered how Kiyoko would handle writing a society where homophobia seems largely absent (or at least not enshrined in law the way it really was in Victorian times), but misogyny persists. As I read, though, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how the topic was addressed. Men who marry men and adopt male children are able to pass down titles, but women who marry women and adopt male children can't do the same. Women are still unable to vote or manage their own accounts, and there is still a sense of the "proper place" for a woman in society, regardless of who she marries.
And those expectations and proper places, especially as related to inheritance, end up becoming the very real stakes between Ivy, to whose American sensibilities these traditions seem quaint, and Freya, who feels a great sense of responsibility to her family to carry on their name and title. I appreciated that neither of them seemed to be obviously in the right, and while they come to agree on many topics, ultimately the aim is to strike a balance between taking care of yourself and taking care of your family, whether chosen or born.
I will say that stylistically, I'm not completely sure that the tone and the setting matched. Something about the vocabulary choice or maybe the syntax felt more modern than was strictly appropriate for the Victorian setting, and there were places that made me think "ah, these are Brits written by an American." But I think that's maybe something that will be addressed in a final round of editing, so I'm not docking stars for it.
Lastly, Kiyoko's acknowledgements mention her desire to create art that exemplifies queer joy, and I think she's done what she set out to do with this book. The stakes are real, and her protagonists are flawed, complicated people whose attitudes are informed by their upbringings, but at the end of the day the book is about the joy that comes at the end of the struggle. "We deserve to be happy even if we have to fight to get there" is a story that deserves to be told and a message that young queer folks deserve to hear.
I enjoyed this read, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical sapphic romance without explicit scenes.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher!

This was lovely. It meant so much to see a world imagined where queerness is accepted...even if misogyny is still so prevalent. I loved the political story, and I loved Ivy and Freya's romance. Freya's relationship with her father resonated with me deeply.

3.75
Sapphic Bridgerton.
Ivy is a poe, who moves from America to England to help her brother. He has inherited a lordship and land and must find a wife and set up a household. Freya is a socialite, who is expected to marry a man with a title and have male heirs. She maintains that she is attracted to men and not women. That is until Ivy arrives.
Pros
I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters. I really liked the Dani character, she was spirited.
I like that it wasnt just a romance book, though I enjoy those too. This book addressed to women’s right to vote and the inheritance laws regarding sapphic women.
I liked that even though it was an instant love troupe, we get to see the couples relationship develop after that initial meeting.
I enjoyed how their issues were not resolved instantly. It took time for them to come back together.
Cons
The story is told in present tense, I’m not typically a fan.
The pacing tends to be a bit slow at times.
We do not get resolution in regard to the father or the inheritance laws. The ending felt a bit rushed.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for those who enjoyed Bridgerton
Or are looking for a sapphic romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Marten’s Press for providing me the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was truly a warm hug of a sapphic read. I came in with the promise that comes with a beautiful cover and a queer normative regency universe and left behind a story with complex loving characters, a narrative that challenges women's place in queer spaces, and a romance that felt like coming home.
Where There's Room For Us follows Freya, one of four sisters living in England in the regency era, on her third season seeking marriage. Though she believes she prefers the company of men, her life is turned upside down when she encounters Ivy, an American poet whose brother just inherited the title of viscount. Though in this universe they are free to love one another and Mary, as people of any gender can wed, there is still a distinct disadvantage to women who choose to marry women when it comes to inheritance—which makes the future complex for Freya, whose father does not yet have a viable heir despite having two sisters who are wed.
Though Ivy and Freya were quick to be attracted to each other, I found their romance completely believable and charming—the way they fell into each other's lives and worked out the things they liked about one another was so believable. I understood and believed their romance, and enjoyed getting to experience them falling in love in conjunction with Freya discovering the part of herself that was also interested in women. I do think I had some difficulty with the pacing related to Freya's naivete and her father, who was portrayed as a loving father but then became very cruel towards the second half of the book with his daughters still forgiving him. I wish we had gotten more of the development and understanding behind his character on page.
I also really enjoyed the unique family dynamic that came with Freya and her sisters—though I wish we had gotten a little more time and richer detail on Marigold and Angelica, who sometimes felt like they blended into one another beyond the gender of their respective spouses. Dani, the youngest sister, was a joy of a character and a fun wild card to have around. I also wish we may have gotten a little more time with their mother as I feel she was the character forgotten about the most in this family.
I really think that the author did something superb with making this more than just a typical romance novel—there were things to be said about the disadvantages that women have even in diverse queer spaces by showing the disadvantages that sapphic marriages have in this universe. I do think that at points the effort to include those disadvantages along with plots related to political groups and votes about measures of inheritance often had the plot pulling in a few different directions, but I think it was so unique that I didn't necessarily mind that much. I particularly adored the way the book pays tribute to queer spaces and community through the lore and wish we had gotten more time to explore some of those spaces like the bridge and the characters associated with it.
I do think that by calling this universe queer normative as I have seen a few things do does not appropriately prepare readers for the injustices served to sapphic characters in this universe, but I was extremely interested in the concept and felt it was such an intriguing thought considering the way sapphics are often disregarded in queer spaces.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and absolutely can't wait to go back and read the author's first novel. What a joy it is to find a place for people like me in a world that we read about so often that is often relegated to focusing on heteronormative romance.

Set in an alternate version of historical England—where women still can’t vote or inherit property, but same-sex marriage is accepted—the world-building is fresh and thought-provoking.
The story follows a dutiful English daughter whose life changes when she meets a confident, gay American poet. Their connection is immediate but complicated, and watching the main character slowly come into her own—while dealing with family pressure and betrayal—makes for a really emotional and satisfying journey.
I especially loved the dynamic between the sisters. Their banter adds warmth and humor that balances the more serious themes, and their relationship was one of my favorite parts of the book.
Overall, Where There’s Room for Us is a heartfelt and genuinely enjoyable read. It’s has emotional depth, some tough moments, but also a lot of charm. Definitely worth picking up.